Coverage of efforts to legalize and ban same-sex marriage and civil unions in the United States, including the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), state ballot measures, court challenges, grassroots mobilizations and the 2013 Supreme Court cases.

Dan Choi was an Iraq War veteran, a graduate of West Point and a trained Arabic linguist. I ran into Choi the day after he received his official discharge for violating the military’s so-called "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy.

The New York State Senate has defeated a bill to legalize gay marriage with a vote of 38 to 24. All thirty Republicans voted against it. The Senate vote was conducted Wednesday in a special session called by Governor David Paterson, who has publicly championed the bill. We speak with the bill’s lead sponsor, Tom Duane, the New York Senate’s only openly gay member. [includes rush transcript]

Thousands have taken to the streets in California and states across the country after Tuesday’s decision by the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8, a ballot measure that bans gay marriage. The court’s decision does preserve the 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place last year during the few months that gay marriage was legal in California. We get reaction from Bryan Wildenthal, the first openly gay law professor at...

The Vermont legislature made history Tuesday by becoming the first in the nation to vote in favor of gay marriage. Vermont lawmakers had voted for a same-sex marriage bill last week, but it was short of a veto-overriding majority, and Governor Jim Douglas vetoed the bill Monday. But on Tuesday, enough House members switched sides to override the veto and voted 100-to-49 to make gay marriage legal. House Speaker Shap Smith announced the final...

Evann Orleck-Jetter testified at the public hearings on gay marriage last month before Vermont’s Joint Senate and House Judiciary Committees. Many legislators later told Evann and her parents that her testimony had moved them to support the bill. [includes rush transcript]

Supporters of gay marriage have asked the California State Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8 that amended California’s constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman. We speak to California State Assembly member Tom Ammiano joins us in San Francisco, a longtime gay rights activist who attended Thursday’s court hearing. [includes rush transcript]

One of the most closely watched ballot initiative votes dealt with gay marriage. In California, Proposition 8 appears headed for approval. The Proposition would amend the California constitution to specify that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Voters also passed gay marriage bans in Arizona and Florida. [includes rush transcript]

While the media focuses primarily on the presidential race, we get an overview of some of the 153 ballot initiatives being voted today in thirty-six states. Voters will weigh in on matters as diverse as clean energy, children’s health insurance, stem cell research, predatory lending, affirmative action, immigrant rights, abortion, gay marriage, adoption, nonviolent drug offenses, income tax, and treatment of farm animals. We speak with...

While all eyes are focused on the presidential race, voters today will also be deciding on a number of different initiatives, referendums and recalls. We get an overview of the some of the propositions on ballots across the country. [includes rush transcript]

The state Supreme Court voided the marriages of some 4,000 same sex couples who married in San Francisco earlier this year. The court ruled that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had overstepped his authority by issuing the marriage licenses to same sex couples. [includes rush transcript]